For 20 years the prototype has been in wide use in Mackay. Mr Cutler said as a result, the trees in the region (there are 3200 on council land) are in much better condition than in other coconut tree regions in Australia.

The wheels were set in motion when Mr Cutler started coconut climbing 30 years ago.

On the left is a coconut tree in good condition, denutted using the Hurse Irons design. On the right is a tree denutted with traditional irons.

"I could see the horrendous damage the traditional irons do to the coconut palms," he said.

"So we started climbing barefoot, we were the first professional barefoot climbers in Queensland. You can only be so productive climbing barefoot,so we had to design our own apparatus that wouldn't damage the trees."

Hurse Irons were only released officially in February, after Mr Cutler felt they were finally perfect, "exactly how I wanted them to be".

"I'm a perfectionist. A lot of people think it's crazy, but we've put the perfect tool on the table at the end of the day," he said.